Newcastle College has teamed up with Northern Stage, a theatre in the heart of the city centre, to offer a unique theatre experience to those studying English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and their families.
The initiative is part of Northern Stage's commitment to making theatre accessible to communities that face financial and cultural barriers.
A group of 10 students from Newcastle College’s ESOL programme was invited to bring their children to a relaxed performance of ‘The Koala Who Could’, a children’s theatre piece based on the picture book by Rachel Bright.
Following the performance, Northern Stage organised an engaging activity session for the children including origami activities and discussions about the performance, helping attendees connect more deeply with the story, which focuses on embracing change.
ESOL learner Siwa Hamide said: "This is the first time I've taken my children to the theatre, and they loved it. They were shouting out answers and joining in the whole time. It was so lovely to see because my youngest son is usually quite quiet, but he felt so comfortable and happy."
Jalal Al Ahmad, shared a similar sentiment: "This is the first time my two children, who are 10 and five, have ever been to any theatre. They had such a good time that now, they ask me every day: Papa, when are we going to the theatre again?"
The Northern Stage team also visited the ESOL learners in college to find out more about any other barriers they could help with, and to run a fun, engaging story-telling workshop that the learners could take home and share with their families.
Northern Stage plans to continue the outreach by inviting adult learners to the Easter performance of 'Kim's Convenience', a play that explores the immigrant experience. The theatre hopes to foster a sense of community and belonging among the students through these activities.
ESOL Instructor Lead Vicki Frith said: “I’m really pleased Northern Stage reached out to us for this project. It was very much a two-way process in that they sent us a list of performances and asked which we thought our learners would get the most out of. We’ve had some excellent feedback from the learners and I’m excited to see how we can take it forward.”